Police investigate racial incidents in South Seattle

Police are investigating what appear to be racially motivated incidents against a black man in Seward Park who had his car vandalized and a note left with a racial slur telling him to move.

Earlier this month, someone dumped white yogurt on the man’s car and wrote a disparaging phrase with two expletives. He also told police he’d received annoying phone calls from a restricted phone number – enough to make him change his number.

Tuesday morning between his vehicles on South Dawson Street, he found a note that included a racial slur and told him to move.

“(The victim) went on to state this happened when he was home and is afraid that whoever left the note might take more drastic measures and either damage his vehicles (or) his home while he is there,” according to a police report. “(He) also stated that other African Americans in the neighborhood have been victims of car prowls and burglaries.”

Police explained the incident would be classified as a bias incident, a different classification than malicious harassment, the state’s hate crime law.